Viva Blackpool’s Father Day’s Audience with Royston Vasey

Father of seven Royston Vasey may not be the first person who springs to mind when choosing a Father’s Day gift.

But drop in on Viva Blackpool’s Festival Family Theatre from 6pm on Sunday and you’ll find Royston - rather than alter ego Roy Chubby Brown - holding forth (with singer Keith Hammersley and comedian Mick Monroe) for a Father Day’s Audience With...

Roy Chubby Brown

He’s made the venue his own for the last three years - and Blackpool’s been home from home (home still being Teesside) since he started out at South Pier in 1985.

Roy says: “I’d live here if I didn’t love Teesside. I used to come on holidays here as kid. We’d get excited seeing the Tower and the donkeys on the beach. It’s still one of those places you go for a good time, not to depress yourself, just out to enjoy yourself. That’s the audience. Not me. Sometimes I have to ask them to calm down. I don’t walk to walk on stage and find them asleep. I’m there to entertain.”

The show marks a departure from the in-yer-face Chubby but has a more anecdotal pace,answering questions from fans. “I’ve got stories about everybody over the ages but I keep it up to date too. There’s always something to pick up from the News. I mention everything in life.”

He’s one of the most instantly recognisable comedians on the circuit. “People stop me everywhere. Must be thousands of selfies with me out there. And I’m always getting ‘my dad loves you’.” He loves meeting fans. “I look back on my humble beginnings and know where I’ve come from. I appreciate the fact people pay money to hear what I have to say. I always have and I always will.

I’d live here if I didn’t love Teesside. I used to come on holidays here as kid.

“And they say never I saw you in Bristol - it’s always Blackpool. I don’t know what I’d do if I retired.”